Celliwig, Kelliwic or Gelliwic is perhaps the earliest named location for the court of
King Arthur. It may be translated as 'forest grove'.
Literary references
It is mentioned in the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
tale ''
Culhwch and Olwen
''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whi ...
'' whose manuscript dates from the 11th century, though the story is much older. The story describes the court as being at Celliwig in Cernyw (the Welsh name for
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
), otherwise known as the kingdom of
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...
including modern
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. The hall is guarded by
Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr
("Brave Grey Mighty Grasp") is a hero, warrior, and porter in tradition and Arthurian mythology, in which he appears as a knight in Arthur's retinue and chief gatekeeper of his court. He is one of the earliest characters to be associated with Ar ...
, Arthur's porter, and
Culhwch
Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medie ...
has difficulty gaining entrance due to the special laws that restrict entry once a feast has begun. Though there is no description of the place the implications of the story are of great wealth and splendour. It describes Arthur's warriors at the court in depth and says that: "From here, one of his Warband, Drem, could see a gnat as far away as Scotland; while another, Medyr, could shoot an arrow through the legs of a wren in Ireland!"
Some of the ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein'' (or
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...
) mention Arthur and "Three Tribal Thrones of the Island of Britain" and locate one of his courts at Celliwig: "Arthur as Chief Prince in Celliwig in Cernyw, and Bishop Bytwini as Chief Bishop, and
Caradog Freichfras
Caradoc Vreichvras (; Modern cy, Caradog Freichfras, ) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round Table, under the ...
as Chief Elder."
Caradoc
Caradoc Vreichvras (; Modern cy, Caradog Freichfras, ) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round Table, under the ...
was his chief elder at this court and that Bishop Bytwini or Bedwin was chief bishop. This is one of the early triads found in Peniarth MS 54 reflecting information recorded before
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
. The same triad goes on to say Arthur's other courts were at
Mynyw and
Pen Rhionydd
Pen Rhionydd is named as the location of King Arthur's northern court in a Welsh triad found in ''Peniarth MS 54'', containing pre- Galfridian traditions:
Arthur as Chief Prince in Pen Rhionydd in the North, and Gerthmwl Wledig as Chief Elder, ...
. The triads also state that at Celliwig
Mordred struck
Gwenhwyfar
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
a blow. This may have led to the
Battle of Camlann. The early Welsh poem ''
Pa gŵr yw'r porthor?'' may also mention the court.
Celliwig was also known to the Cornish as well, as it appears as ''Kyllywyc'' in the
Cornish-language
Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However, k ...
play ''
Beunans Ke
''Bewnans Ke'' (''The Life of Saint Ke'') is a Middle Cornish play on the life of Saint Kea or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany and elsewhere. It was written around 1500 but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second ha ...
'', written perhaps around 1500. In the ''Iolo Manuscripts'' (1843), a corpus of pseudo-medieval Welsh texts by the renowned literary forger and inventor of tradition
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...
(1747–1826), Celliwig is referred as the former site of the "throne of Cornwall" but the text adds that it is now at ''Caervynyddawg'' (Caerfynyddog), a site which is otherwise unattested.
Location
* A 1302 Cornish legal record mentions a 'Thomas de Kellewik' from west Cornwall, though his exact place of origin is unknown. Translated into SWF Cornish this would be meaning "woods town" cognate with Latin and Saxon .
* Celliwig was identified by some Cornish antiquaries from 1816 onwards with
Callington
Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston.
Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...
(occasionally locally attested as 'Callywith') where the ancient monuments of Castlewich Henge and
Cadson Bury
Cadson Bury is an Iron Age hillfort about south-west of Callington, in Cornwall, England.
It is owned by the National Trust, are in close proximity. Their influence gave Callington its modern name in
Common Cornish;
Kelly Bray
Kelly Bray ( kw, Kellivre) is a village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated one mile (1.6 km) north of Callington, immediately west of Kit Hill in a former mining area. Kelly Bray is in the parish of Callington and ...
(Cornish: ''Kellibregh'', 'dappled grove') is located just to the north.
*
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010) born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic a ...
, editor of the Welsh Triads, matched it to
Kelly Rounds
Kelly Rounds, or Castle Killibury is an Iron Age hill fort in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated beside the A39 trunk road approximately two miles east of Wadebridge.
The site is north of the village of St Mabyn, approximately ...
, a hill fort in the Cornish parish of Egloshayle. This had already been suggested by
Charles Henderson in the ''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) (p. 87).
* The ''
Ravenna Cosmography
The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Textu ...
'' identifies a major regional Roman-era settlement as ''Nemetostatio'' in central Dumnonia (identified with
North Tawton
North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026.
History
Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newl ...
, Devon) which would translate from Latin as 'The Outpost of the Sacred Grove(s)'.
* Not far away from the modern Cornish border is the village of
Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
in Devon which takes its name from an ancient local family, attested as far back as the 11th century.
Outside Cornwall
* However, there are also a number of places called Cernyw or containing that name in Wales, e.g. the place name
Coedkernew
Coedkernew ( cy, Coedcernyw) is a community in the south west of the city of Newport, South Wales, in the Marshfield ward.
The parish is bounded by Percoed reen to the south, Nant-y-Selsig to the southwest, and Pound Hill to the west. The no ...
(''Coed Cernyw'') in
Newport. So it has been suggested that this court might be the hillfort of
Llanmelin, near
Caerwent
Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important sett ...
. Caradog's connection to the
Kingdom of Gwent
Gwent ( owl, Guent) was a medieval Welsh kingdom, lying between the Rivers Wye and Usk. It existed from the end of Roman rule in Britain in about the 5th century until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century. Along with its neighb ...
might support this idea.
* There is also a farm called Gelliweg on the
Llŷn peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...
in
Gwynedd which one pair of Arthurian researchers and writers, Steven Blake and Scott Lloyd, argue may be the location.
*
Kernev/Cornouaille is a region in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
with close cultural ties to Cornwall and Wales and the continental source for the
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
.
Celliwic as a fictional place
Those who argue that Arthur is a mythic figure also suggest this court is entirely fictional. Given that the name means "forest grove... it may have originally been envisaged as somewhere Otherworldly (sacred groves being common in Celtic myth) and only later might a specific location have been ascribed to it."
See also
*
Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend
The following is a list and assessment of sites and places associated with King Arthur and the Arthurian legend in general. Given the lack of concrete historical knowledge about one of the most potent figures in British mythology, it is unlikely ...
*
Historicity of King Arthur
The historicity of King Arthur has been debated both by academics and popular writers. While there have been many suggestions that Arthur was a real historical person, current consensus among academic historians holds him to be a mythological or ...
References
{{Arthurian Legend
Locations associated with Arthurian legend
Welsh mythology